Whicker: More than memories for UCI seniors

UC Irvine explodes off the bench after a three-pointer by Michael Wilder, not shown, that gave them the lead in the second half against Pacific at the Bren Event Center on Feb. 20. ROD VEAL, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

IRVINE – College basketball, hellbent on ditching so much of its quaintness, still observes Senior Night.

Of course, it helps to have seniors.

The player and his parents come to midcourt. The mom gets a laurel and the dad gets a hearty handshake. The students serenade, the photographer is on hand, and everything is auld lang syne.

Sometimes it's sincere, sometimes it's for show, sometimes the coach and the player have been marking the days until each can be turned loose from the other.

At UC Irvine Saturday, the notes rang true.

Adam Folker, Daman Starring, Derick Flowers and Michael Wilder got the pregame treatment, and then the Anteaters played flawlessly early and fearlessly late, and they beat Long Beach State, 72-69.

Wilder, who has scuffled all year, hit a 3-pointer from the corner, created by freshman Alex Young. That broke a 63-63 tie with 1:05 left.

Up five with 27 seconds left, the Anteaters still needed two free throws from Wilder to recover a 3-point lead, with 3.8 seconds left.

This could have been problematic, since Wilder is shooting 48 percent when the music stops.

"Stats lie," Coach Russell Turner declared. "I watch that guy every day. There's not a time when he lets it go that I don't think it's going in."

These did.

But then there was Folker, who is playing his best basketball at an exquisite time.

He scored 16 with seven rebounds here. History will note he made both his free throws, improving his 41.8 mark for the year.

Folker is averaging 15.8 points his past four games and shooting 29 for 41. He is leaving this spring with a degree in business economics. He already has started up a digital marketing project, "developing sales leads for companies. It started when I had hip surgery. I had a little bit of time, so I read about every book I could read."

He grew up in Markham, a Toronto suburb that produced Steven Stamkos, the NHL's goal-scoring champ last year.

"I was a little big for skates," Folker said, and his parents, Gary and Helen, both played Canadian college basketball.

He had never heard of UCI until he got letters. He did the research, noted the climactic differential, and was sold. So was Helen, who has spent the past 21/2 months here.

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